


Coffee Stains and Paper Airplanes

by TinyOceans



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Dark Past, Eventual Romance, F/M, Past Relationship(s), Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 16:53:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24030121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinyOceans/pseuds/TinyOceans
Summary: “I don’t know the first thing about running a farm!” said Ava Knight and she was probably very much correct. She had left her old miserable life  in the city for a new adventure, thinking she was leaving her past with it but falling in love with the town doctor and making friends with the town drunk weren't supposed to be on the agenda.
Relationships: Harvey (Stardew Valley)/Original Female Character(s), Harvey/Female Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. Pepperoni

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I will update the tags as needed. Any thoughts or suggestions are very welcome!

Have you ever felt lonely in a room full of people? That was a feeling Ava Knight just could not shake. She stared wistfully into the paper cup in her hand, jerking it slightly so she could watch the liquid within swish against the sides of the cup.

‘Holiday parties are the worst’ she thought to herself before she downed the contents of the cup. She was day dreaming about making a swift exit through the fire door and getting out of there but she knew that wouldn’t be possible. This was a work function and everyone who worked for Joja Corporation was expected to show up and smile.

She crumpled the paper cup into a small ball and tossed it aimlessly into the nearest waste paper bin. Her stomach grumbled, she realised she hadn’t eaten since lunch and she wanted nothing more right now than to be lay in bed eating a large pizza.

“Ah, Ava, come here will you” she heard a voice call out. It was her boss Dean Oswald, a petty little man with a sharp nose and small, cold eyes. He directed her into his office and she followed him, albeit begrudgingly. She stepped in the doorway, hoping that whatever this was would be brief.

“Yes, sir?” she said quietly as he motioned for her to come in and close the door. She did as he asked, glancing behind her as she did to see those who were stood nearby were watching. She shot them a look before the door shut with a soft click and she breathed in deeply. This obviously wasn’t good but then, when were there ever good days at Joja Corporation?

“Ava” he said as he sat down, while he tented his fingers and pursed his lips. He paused, as if to find the right words before he asked her to take a seat. Ava really didn’t feel like it but she knew better than to say no.

“What is this about?” she asked and he raised his hand, a motion that usually meant he wanted her to be quiet. There was another pause. ‘ _Pepperoni’_ , she thought to herself. ‘ _Pepperoni, with extra cheese’._ That’s the pizza she wished she was eating in bed right now instead of being here.

Ava was a bit of a stress eater. This had not always been the case but Joja Corporation had its ways of grinding you down and everyone who worked here had their vices. Be it nail biting, smoking, chewing gum - everyone had something that kept them sane here. Ava had taken to hiding sweet treats in her desk to devour quietly in the stairwell or in the supply closet, given a rare moment of peace. 

Not that she didn’t keep in shape. Lately the only place she seemed to spend any time at outside of work, was the company gym. Going home to an empty apartment every night seemed unbearable since her and Tom broke up and the gym had become a great place to try and forget about things.

“I didn’t want to discuss this tonight Ava” Dean said as he regarded her over his fingertips, “but it has been brought to my attention you’re not really playing your part tonight”

Ava fought the urge to roll her eyes. _Which of those catty bitches had told tales on her first?_ She had her suspicions. You didn’t stand off to the sidelines at these events or at any Joja events for that matter. You were supposed to ‘play your part’. You were supposed to massacre a pop anthem on the karaoke machine, put on your paper crown and play the party games. Standing on the sidelines wasn’t very Joja Corp. They put money into these functions for you to at least look like you were enjoying yourself.

Ava opened her mouth with some excuse but Dean cut her off again, “you haven’t been playing your part for a while now, if we’re being honest here Ava. It’s important to be honest”

He probably wasn’t wrong but she would by lying if she said that hadn’t stung. It’s important to be honest? She wanted to laugh at that. Honesty from anyone here was rare. She shook her head but said nothing, this was becoming a hole she knew she wouldn’t be able to get out of without grovelling and right now she _really_ didn’t feel like it.

“You don’t agree that you’ve been letting things slip?” Dean said, his eyebrow raised, clearly he was expecting more words out of her than he had garnered so far.

Ava took a deep breath and gripped the edge of the seat, her nails almost piercing the cheap faux leather, “Doesn’t really matter what I think, does it Dean” she said quietly. She had surprised even herself with that but clearly not as much as him.

“I’d choose your next words carefully Ava” he said threateningly.

“Or what?” Ava said as she sharply rose from her seat, “you’ll fire me?”

She let out a harsh laugh but there was no merriment in it, “there’s no need, take this as my immediate resignation”

Whatever Dean said next melted around her as she opened his office door and the room exploded with the wailing of someone on the karaoke machine. She half ran as she crossed directly to her desk and grabbed a large cardboard box filled with all the files she’d been working on recently.

She unceremoniously tipped the box upside down, the papers spilling and pooling at her feet and she began to throw her belongings into the box - her pens, her plant, her calendar, a framed photo. It wasn’t much but she wasn’t going to leave these things here, Joja had taken enough from her and it wouldn’t be long before they called security to escort her from the building.

She moved quickly but she realised that the music had stopped and as she glanced up, she realised everyone was stood around gawking at her.

“That’s all folks!” she said in her best Bugs Bunny impersonation with a smirk and the box in hand, ran out of the main office towards the elevator.

“Fuck this” Ava swore quietly as she decided not to wait for the elevator to arrive. Instead she turned into the emergency staircase, her heels clicked loudly on the concrete floor as she descended the steps as quickly as she could.

She soon realised this was not the only sound she could hear and as she reached the bottom, two figures came into view and she realised she had interrupted an intimate moment. Holiday party shenanigans, of course. It was to be expected that in some remote corner of the building, two employee’s would be making a regrettable drunken decision. It was just that in this instance, Ava had hoped that one of them would not be her ex boyfriend Tom.

That would have been _too much_ to ask wouldn’t it?

She kept her eyes on her box but it was difficult not to notice _her_ pulling her dress down and _him_ adjusting his belt, especially when he called out her name.

“Ava, what are you doing here?” he said, his voice pitched with surprise.

She stopped and looked at him sideways, she wasn’t surprised to find him here. After all, it had become obvious to her at some point during their relationship, that Tom had an issue with keeping his hands off other women and now they were no longer together, what was to stop him from continuing that?

“I’m just on my way out” she said, lifting the box to illustrate her situation.

“Ava, if this is about me…” he began but Ava laughed. It was another one of those harsh little laughs she did, more like a bark.

“Amazingly Tom, not everything is about you” she snapped, fighting back the tears that were threatening to well up within her eyes, “enjoy your evening”

“Let’s talk about this. Don’t go throwing away your career” he said as she pushed past him, kicking open the fire escape. The squeals of the alarm rang out around her as she ran into the night.

\- - - - - - - - -

An alarm buzzed, signalling morning. Ava groaned loudly at the rude awakening and mentally kicked herself for not turning the damn thing off last night. She barely opened her eyes as the smell of cold pizza swam around her and turned her stomach, the memory of last night suddenly came flooding into view.

 _‘My job’_ she thought suddenly, _‘I quit my job…’_

She rolled over lazily as she grimaced, reaching up to rub her eye with the heel of her palm, the remnants of last nights make up smeared across it. Now that she thought about it, last night was a bit of a blur.

She remembered quitting her job…she then remembered being in the pizza place. Stood in the corner while surrounded by a crowd of rowdy drunkards, waiting for her order. She took swigs from a bottle of cheap rum from the convenience store while the owner Mr Janam, gave her a few glances of concern. In the end he said nothing about the liquor but he was slightly more generous with the pepperoni this time.

And now she was hungover and full of regret. Well, at least to some extent. ‘ _Quitting that job was for the best’_ , she told herself, even if it didn’t feel like it was right now. She sat up to turn off the alarm that still buzzed beside her and realised she’d gotten into bed without undressing from the night previous, the half eaten pizza discarded at the foot of the bed. She reached down and picked up a piece, taking a large bite as she reached for her phone.

There was a few junk emails and a text from Tom. She toyed with the idea of reading it for a moment before she swiped left and hit the delete button. She then noticed there was a missed call from an unknown number but no voice mail, so she decided that it was probably just a cold caller trying their luck. Throwing it to the bottom of the bed beside the pizza box, she rose and decided it was time to take a long hot shower.

Once she was feeling suitably human again, she decided eating cold pizza for breakfast probably wasn’t for the best and went to retrieve the greasy box with the intention of tossing it in the trash. Her phone lit up beside it, the same unknown number was calling for what was now the third time. She rolled her eyes but decided to answer it anyway, it might be the only human contact she’d have today.

“Hello” she sighed

“Hello, I’m looking to speak to Ava Knight?” the voice on the line asked back

“Speaking” Ava said, “But if you’re looking to sell me anything…”

The voice at the other end cut her off, “I’m glad I finally got a hold of you but no, I’m not here to sell you anything” his voice was cheerful and he sounded genuinely relieved to have found the correct person, so she decided to stay on the phone.

“Okay…what is this about?” she asked suspiciously

“My name is Lewis, I’m the Mayor of Pelican Town and I’ve been made the executor of the estate of Albert Blackwell”

Ava said nothing as this name meant nothing to her. She racked her brain for a moment but no, she definitely didn’t know who that was…

“Hello?” the voice at the other end said after some time

“Yes, I’m still here. I think you must have be confused with someone else, I don’t know any Albert Blackwell” she said, the confusion evident in her tone.

“Well, I’m sorry to tell you” Lewis continued, “Albert passed away in the summer. We’ve had a little trouble tracking you down or we would have been in touch sooner, at least before the funeral”

Ava raised an eyebrow “No need there, I’ve not a clue who he is - er, was”

There was a pause on the other end of the line, _‘he must have the wrong person’_ Ava thought to herself but then Lewis finally spoke, “I didn’t want to be the one to tell you this but… Arthur was your great uncle”

Ava slowly sank back into the bed. She was a foster care kid who bounced from home to home and she never knew her family. To finally get a name of someone who was a blood relative was an odd experience to say the least.

Lewis waited for her to speak but as nothing came from her, he continued, “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, I’m sure it must have come as some surprise”

“You could say that” Ava breathed, “but why are you contacting me? If he’s already dead…?”

“Well as I stated earlier, I’m Arthur’s executor and the person who’s been dealing with his will. As it stands, you’re to inherit his farm here in Pelican Town”

Ava was glad she’d already sat down as she was now in a state of complete shock.


	2. Arrival

Blackwell farm was a small farmhouse with a few acres of land. The house itself looked cosy enough, quaint even. Though she must admit it was beginning to look a little run down. Lewis had been kind enough to email her a few pictures over the holidays so she could decide what she wanted to do next.

He’d told her on the phone he wasn’t trying to sell her anything... ‘but that wasn’t entirely true’, she thought. He was trying to sell her on the idea of taking over the place. An idea that at first, seemed completely insane.

“I don’t know the first thing about running a farm!” she’d exclaimed at the very notion of his proposal.

She was a city slicker through a through, never having been further than the city limits of Zuzu city in her life. In her youth, she’d lived in a few foster homes in the suburbs but that wasn’t really comparable to the lifestyle of those who lived in the valley or of living the rural life on a farm.

She’d proposed the idea of selling the place but Lewis had almost pleaded with her not to. He’d said that the only people who would have any interest in purchasing it would only want it for the land…and that would be Joja Co. He didn’t really want to let the corporation take over their little town more than it already had.

She certainly needed the money, as without a job she wouldn’t be able to continue paying her rent and she had no savings to speak of. Living in the city was so expensive. Lewis had told her to take the holidays and think it over but deep down she felt she’d already made her decision. It was time for a new adventure.

Ava then spent the remainder of the holidays selling the furniture she had. Anything and everything she knew she’d have no need or room for was to go. Thankfully, the majority of it moved quickly via sales online and the rest she gave away to anyone in need. Eventually all that was left was what came with the apartment and a few cardboard boxes which now held all her worldly possessions. Mostly kitchen supplies, some clothes and bedding.

Once the Feast of the Winter star was over and Spring had begun to bloom, Lewis had arrived in the city with his pick-up truck to collect her. Ava had been embarrassed at his offer but he had been quite insistent. He really had been very pleased by the fact she was going to take over the farm instead of selling the land and wanted to show her a real small town welcome. She was grateful really, he was saving her a lot of trouble.

He parked on the street outside her apartment, exiting from a beat up old truck to find her sat beside the curb with her boxes, awaiting his arrival. He was an older gentleman, with an impressive silver moustache but he had a kind face. He shook her hand enthusiastically, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet in person. I’m so very pleased you’ve decided to make a go of it in our little town”

Ava had smiled nervously “Of course” she said before picking up one of the cardboard boxes and throwing it into the back of the pick-up truck, “Thanks for the ride”

Once they were away, Ava quietly watched the view from the window change over time. First it was the imposing grey and black architecture of the inner city, then it became the pretty gardens and houses of the suburbia before changing into the green rolling hills of the valley. As they got closer and closer to their destination her nerves started to set in. ‘What was I thinking?’ she thought to herself, “Really...what the hell was I thinking...”, she suppressed a groan but reached out to run her palm down the side of her face.

Lewis seemed to sense a shift in her mood and he glanced over at her from behind the wheel, “Everything alright?” he asked

“Just….moving jitters” she said quietly

He smiled, “That’s understandable. I’m sure you’ll learn to love living in Pelican Town with time” he said reassuringly

She glanced back out of the window, ‘Here’s hoping’ she thought to herself.

Deep down Ava had always wanted a place to belong. Being orphaned from such a young age and growing up in the foster care system - she had never had a real place to call home. Everywhere was temporary but worst of all _everyone_ was temporary. Relationships were as transient as the places and she had struggled to make any meaningful connections throughout her life, whether that be platonic or romantic. People always seemed to let her down and she’d had to learn to look out for herself. Maybe this wouldn’t change…. _‘you could still feel lost in a small town’_ she thought to herself. 

However, she was determined not to let things get her down. This was a fresh start, time to be positive. Time to try and make new connections. Or at least try.

“The house should be ready when we get to town, Robin has been hard at work tidying it for your arrival” Lewis said

“That really wasn’t necessary” Ava said, embarrassed again. _Why were these people, who didn’t know her, doing so much for her?_

Lewis frowned slightly before he smiled again, “Of course it was, we want you to be able to feel at home right away. Just a bit of cleaning and airing, it’s been some months since…” he trailed off

Ava glanced back at him. Obviously the death of Albert had affected him and she assumed that they must have been good friends. Maybe that’s why he felt duty bound to see her settled in.

“I’m sorry for your loss” she said softly and he nodded

“He was quite the man, I’m sorry you never got to meet him” Lewis said

“Me too” she said, her eyes returning to the passenger side window, _‘more than you know’_ she thought.

\-------- 

As the truck approached the farmhouse, Ava noticed a pretty redhead stood on the porch who waved at their arrival. _‘This must be Robin’_ , she thought to herself as they came to a stop.

“Let’s get you settled in” Lewis said as he exited the drivers side

Ava stepped out of the truck and took a long look at her surroundings. It was certainly true to the pictures, she thought. The quaint wooden farmhouse was slowly turning into a dilapidated shack and was surrounded by broken fences, the land around it becoming overgrown with weeds and trees. It was going to be a lot of work. Ava was stood there in a state of quiet panic while Lewis started to unload her boxes.

“Hello! You must be Ava, it’s such a pleasure to meet you” Robin said enthusiastically as she strode toward her with an outstretched hand. Ava paused for a moment like a dumb mute, staring silently.

“Er, yes, hello” she said sheepishly, finally shaking the woman’s hand.

Lewis had been watching the exchange, “This must be a lot to take in….” he began but Ava shook her head.

“It’s fine, honestly…Where are my manners...thank you both so much for all you’ve done for me so far” she said. It was a lot to take in, he was right.

Lewis gestured to the house, “It is a little rustic” he said as Robin laughed

“Rustic?” she said, that’s certainly one way to put it. Crusty might be a little more apt”

Lewis shot her a look before he smiled at Ava, “Don’t listen to her, she’s just trying to drum up business”

Robin crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as Lewis laughed, “Robin here is a carpenter. A _very good one_ , although I wouldn’t tell _her_ that” he whispered the last part although it was clear the other woman heard him perfectly well.

Ava smiled weakly and Robin grinned at her, “Well we’re glad to have you join our community. It’s not every day someone moves here, so your arrival is kind of a big deal. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. The locals are very friendly, you’ll find no trouble getting any help here”

“She’s right and tomorrow night we’ll be having a little welcome party at the Saloon, in your honour” Lewis said, “that way you can introduce yourself to everyone”

Ava’s stomach flipped at the idea of a party but she smiled and nodded, “Yeah, great...”

“Fantastic!” Lewis said, “now, let’s get these boxes inside”

Once the door was open, Ava drank in her surroundings. There was a small kitchenette with a very basic set up, including a small fridge and an old gas stove. The thought of using it scared her slightly.

Next to the kitchen was a small living area, complete with an tired looking leather bound armchair. The material around it cracked and faded with age and beside it was a threadbare love seat. The furniture faced an antique television set, the kind in a wooden frame with big old buttons and dials. It was so ancient looking she wondered if it was even capable of showing colour.

Off to the right of the room there was a small doorway which led to the bedroom. Within was an old bed frame that looked like it was carved from oak or perhaps some other sturdy wood she couldn’t distinguish. The mattress was old and worn but she was sure once her own sheets were on it, it would look a lot more inviting. Within the bedroom was another door that led to the bathroom. A small tiled room with very basic amenities but it did house a interesting looking claw foot bathtub.

“It won’t be so bad once you make it your own” Robin said in a comforting tone, “and when you decide to upgrade this place you know where I am. I’ve got to run, I’ll see you both at the party tomorrow!”

Lewis looked at his watch, which Ava realised meant he was also ready to make tracks. She smiled at him “Consider me settled in, I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for all your help”

He smiled back, “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. See you at party, it’ll be at 8pm at the Stardrop Saloon, it’s in the centre of town, you can’t really miss it”

She waved him off and shut the front door.

 _‘Okay…here we go’_ she thought with a sigh and started to unpack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos and bookmarks so far! Chapter 3 is already in the works and should be up soon.


	3. First Aid

Ava hadn’t slept much during her first night at the farm. She was something of a light sleeper and the sudden change in situation had made it worse than usual. The creaks of the floorboards, the gurgling of the old boiler and the ghostly groans as the house contracted and expanded all felt very alien to her. She supposed she would get used to it in time but for the first night it had felt like she was spending the night in a haunted house. She’d lay there shivering beneath her duvet and waiting for dawn to break.

When it finally did and the soft glow of the first light illuminated the thin curtains of her bedroom, she decided to step onto the porch and watch the sunrise. The air was cool and her bare toes curled slightly as the wood beneath them was sprinkled with morning dew.

She’d sometimes watched the sun come up in the city, although it was different. The view certainly hadn’t ever been this good as it had always been blocked by the high rises but now seeing the wide open sky was something of a comfort to her. “I could get used to this” she thought to herself, the fears of the night fading away around her.

Her stomach growled loudly, having spent the evening before unpacking without any dinner. The cupboards were bare, so breakfast would have to come later, once the shops opened. She stepped into the bathroom and turned the gnarled old taps on the shower unit. The pipes gargled and groaned loudly but soon hot water arrived. Once washed, she dressed herself in fitted pair of busted old jeans and an old gig t-shirt.

Her first job would be tilling the soil. She had spent some time over the holidays reading up on the best way to start growing vegetables, so she wasn’t going into this totally blind and Lewis had informed her that there was some old tools lying around here somewhere…

After a good look around, she found an old shed leaning haphazardly to one side around the back of the farmhouse. Opening the door she realised that nobody had been in here in months. It was dark, dusty and there seemed to be cobwebs everywhere. Ava scrunched her face up at the sight of those long silvery webs but after a few moments she stepped inside, as she really had no choice but to find something to work with.

The ground inside was uneven, all broken floorboards and rusty nails at odd angles. As she struggled with her footing, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she finally spotted the tools she was looking for at the very back of the shed. There was a hoe, an axe, a watering can… although everything here looked very old and was beginning to rust. ‘At least they would be a something to start with’ she told herself. 

As she took a step forward and leaned over to grab the hoe, her sneaker slipped on something oily. Suddenly she lurched forward dramatically as she lost her footing and threw out her arms to find something to steady herself on. Reaching blindly for the shelving to anchor herself, she gripped a large pair of open ended gardening sheers and fell to the floor. After a moment to collect herself, she winced but managed to pull herself up. Her palm stung intensely but it was dark to see any damage that had been done, so she grabbed the hoe with her good hand and exited the shed.

Now in the light she found her palm, index and middle finger on her right hand were all deeply slashed in a long diagonal pattern. “Great start” she snapped at herself, annoyed by her own clumsiness. She was now bleeding rather intensely.

“I don’t have time for this!” Ava whined childishly as she walked back around to the front of the farmhouse, throwing the hoe into the dirt as she went and sat down on the porch. Hot tears began to well in her eyes. “Haven’t even been here a full day…” she almost sobbed, feeling defeated. Extending her fingers tentatively, she realised she’d really done some damage to herself and now the adrenaline had wore of it was beginning to get quite painful.

She stepped back into the kitchen and grabbed dish cloth from one of the drawers, wrapping it around her hand and curling her fingers to make a loose fist around it. She’d done a basic first aid course while working for Joja and she remembered that she was told to keep pressure on a wound and to keep it elevated, so she bent her arm at the elbow and raised her wrist to rest it against her chest.

“I really need to get a first aid box for this place” she said to herself with a frown, realising she now had no other option than head to town.

Shuffling her good arm through one of the handles on her small leather backpack and trying to lock her front door with her non dominant hand were something of a struggle but eventually she managed it and set off down the road towards civilisation.

Thankfully, town wasn’t very far away and within no time she found herself outside a store front with a large hand painted sign, stating that it was **Pierre’s General Store**. It was beside a white building with a neon sign outside, a large red cross that was illuminated, indicating that it was the doctors office.

Pulling her phone out of her back pocket, she checked the time. It was now 8.30am and after reading the the opening times that were stuck to the doors on both buildings, neither would be open for another half an hour.

“Great…this is just fucking great” she yelled angrily, kicking at a small pebble in her path. She watched it roll away as she heard a man's voice from behind her, “Excuse me, are you alright?”

Ava whipped round with surprise, somewhat embarrassed to be caught acting so childishly. She avoided his gaze and looked back at her hand, the dishcloth now very clearly soaked with blood.

“Yeah…..I’m okay, thanks” she mumbled in response  
“You don’t look okay” the stranger replied, taking a step closer, “may I take a look?”

Ava pulled her hand closer to her, “I’ll be fine, I’m just waiting for the general store to open….” she began but the stranger frowned as she trailed off.

She studied him for a moment. He was tall, with wavy brown hair and green eyes, framed by some sensible spectacles and he had a neatly trimmed moustache.

“Or you could come with me into the clinic and I’ll take a look? I’m Harvey, the town doctor” he said reassuringly.

Ava wanted to tell him it wasn’t that serious and to just go about his day but instead she said “but the clinic doesn’t open for another half an hour”

She then mentally kicked herself. ‘What a stupid thing to say!’ she said internally, _‘of course he knows that. It’s his clinic…’_

Why was she being so _awkward_?

Harvey smiled at this, “I’m well aware of that but this _could_ constitute as something of an emergency”

Ava glanced back down at her hand as he continued “I can’t really leave you bleeding on the street, it’s against a doctors code of ethics”

When she looked up at him he was smiling and she’d run out of excuses. She nodded in agreement and stepped in line behind him as he unlocked the clinic door. The bell above the door jingled softly and her shoes squeaked on the linoleum beneath her. He led her to the back of the reception area and to the left, down a small corridor into the examination room.

“Take a seat” he told her as he retrieved some disposable gloves, “So, I’m guessing you’re the new farmer?” he then said casually as she sat down.

She awkwardly realised she hadn’t introduced herself yet, “Er, yes. I’m Ava”

“It’s nice to meet you” he said as he took a seat in front of her, “now what happened here?” he asked her as he took her hand in his. He took the dishcloth from her, tossing it into the medical waste bin beside him as she tried to repress a wince.

“Garden sheers” she mumbled, “well….at least I think so. It was kinda dark”

Harvey smiled at this as he extended her fingers gently, inspecting the wound, “well I’m afraid you’re going to need a couple of stitches here” he said, pointing towards her palm, “The rest we can just bandage up”

He turned and retrieved a syringe, “I’m just going to give you something to numb the pain so we can stitch you up” he said as he removed the safety cap. He now saw that Ava’s eyes were suddenly wide and she seemed nervous.

He returned to his seat in front of her, taking her hand in his and said suddenly “Hey, take a look at that birds nest up there” as he glanced up at the ceiling.

“Where?” Ava said dumbly as she looked up, confused as to why there would be a birds nest in the doctors office. She then suddenly felt the needle pierce her skin and she laughed gently, realising he had tricked her into looking away. She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, although he could see the humour in her gaze.

“Sorry, I usually reserve that trick for my youngest patients” he said with a smile as he begun to clean her wound, “You seemed to have a little phobia of needles”

“I have a phobia of pain” she replied with a laugh, though she soon felt the painkiller start to work and she stretched her fingers provisionally, “I don’t mind having a gnarly scar though” she said with a grin.

Harvey smiled as he glanced at her over the rims of his spectacles with those fascinating green eyes of his. She blushed and looked back down at her hand, watching his nimble fingers as they worked the stitches across her palm. Before long he had closed the wound and had begun bandaging the rest of the lesion.

He then directed her on how to take care of the wound for the next few days and made sure she had a change of bandages, “Here’s the date for your follow up appointment, then we can get you filled out as a new patient and see how you’re healing” he said kindly. She was glad she didn’t have to fill out a new patient form right now, the thought of trying to hold a pen with bandaged fingers felt like it would a difficult experience.

Ava nodded as she accepted her appointment card, “Thanks for the help” she said quietly before asking, “are you going to be at the party tonight?”

‘ _Where did that come from?’_ she thought awkwardly, _‘Is that your way of asking him out?’_ she mentally kicked herself, _‘Here’s my disgusting hand, would you like to come to my party? Idiot!’_

“Oh, is that tonight?” he then said almost uncomfortably, “I’ll have to see if I can make it”

“Oh okay…cool” she said, feeling disappointed but trying to play it off, “Well I guess… I’ll see you around then” she said with a small nod and left the clinic before he had the chance to respond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos, bookmarks and comments!


	4. Centre of Attention

Ava stepped out of the clinic staring down at her bandaged fist and feeling slightly deflated. She sighed, “Now let’s try and do something productive today” she mumbled quietly to herself.

“Oh, hello” came a voice from beside her, taking her by surprise.

 _‘How many times am I going to be caught talking to myself today’_ she thought, visibly cringing, “Sorry, I was just…”

“Talking to yourself?” the beautiful young woman said with a smile, “I think everyone does that from time to time”

“I guess you’re right” Ava replied sheepishly, “I’m-”

“- Ava” the woman finished her sentence for her, “I’m Maru. Robin is my mom, she told me all about you”

“Good things I hope” Ava said nervously.

Maru smiled, “Of course, your arrival is kind of a big deal”

“Thanks” Ava mumbled, not sure what else to say. Being the talk of the town was still something of an odd feeling for her.

“I’m guessing you’ve already met Doctor Harvey?” Maru said as Ava was still blocking the doorway to the clinic.

“Oh yes” Ava said sadly as she lifted her bound digits, “he fixed me up, although I have a feeling this won’t be the last time” she said with a hollow laugh, “I talk to myself and I’m clumsy! This town won’t know what hit it”

Maru laughed as she patted Ava on the arm sympathetically, “At least you have a sense of humour. I’m sorry to rush off but I have to get to work” she said, gesturing to the clinic, “but I’ll see you tonight at the party!”

“Yeah, definitely” Ava said as she waved her off and stepped onwards toward Pierre’s.

\- - - - - - - -

Harvey wondered why he’d been so aloof as he watched the new farmer leave. Why exactly had he avoided saying he was going to be there? Of course he was going to be at the party. Maru certainly wasn’t going to let him get away with not showing up and she’d told him as much.

He never wanted to let Maru down… besides, everyone was looking forward to the party. A fresh face in town was a big deal in these parts and something to celebrate. Harvey knew he must fulfil the social obligations that came with living in a small town, people noticed if you didn’t show up.

A knock on the exam room door broke him out of his thoughts and Maru’s pretty face appeared in the doorway, “Morning doc” she called out cheerfully.

“Good morning Maru” he replied with a half smile.

“Something wrong?” she asked, lingering in the doorway, now frowning slightly, “…you are still coming tonight right?”

“Yes, yes” he said, waving a hand, “I said I would”

Maru smirked, seemingly amused “You _might_ even have a good time you know? That is possible” Harvey frowned at her and she laughed, “You can’t stay cooped up all the time doc”

“Don’t you have some filing to do?” Harvey then said, trying to put an end to the conversation. She shot him a look before heading out of the room.

She meant well, of course. Maru and her family had been amongst the most welcoming when he first moved to Pelican Town, it was also a deciding factor in choosing her as his assistant here in the clinic…at least that’s what he told himself. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind of thoughts of his young assistant and checked his calendar to see who his first official appointment of the day would be.

\- - - - - - - - -

“Ah, the new farmer” Pierre said, peering over his half moon spectacles as he watched Ava step over the threshold of his store.

 _‘It’s impossible to be anonymous in this town’_ Ava thought to herself as she nodded, “Hello” she mumbled with a polite wave as she stepped toward the counter he resided behind, “I guess I’m here to buy some seeds” she said as her stomach grumbled, “and some groceries….”

Pierre gave her a wide smile “of course, you came to the right place” he said as he came from around the counter and directed her to a spinning display of seeds, which were sorted according to season. Ava gingerly reached out to inspect some of the spring seed packets with her wounded hand, which Pierre was quick to notice.

“You just moved here, so I’m assuming your cupboards are bare? Let me grab those groceries for you while you select what you want to grow this season!” he said, not waiting for her to reply.

Ava wasn’t stupid, she knew this was his attempt at a subtle sales tactic but she was too embarrassed to say anything. Instead she grabbed a few packets of parsnip and potato seeds and brought them over to the counter as she watched Pierre flit his way around the shop and soon he returned with an arm full of groceries.

“You don’t get this kind of service at the Joja Mart” he said to her as he began to ring the items through the register.

“I can imagine” Ava said, avoiding his gaze as she reached in her backpack to find her wallet and the bell above the door signalled another customer.

“Good morning Marnie” Pierre called out as Ava turned to see a plump woman with a thick braid of brown hair enter the store. The woman smiled at both of them as she approached.

“Good morning Pierre!” she said jovially as she approached, “and this must be the new farmer, I’m glad to make your acquaintance finally” she said, extending a hand.

Ava went to shake it but Marnie soon realised she was injured, “My word, what happened to you?”

Ava shrugged, “A fight with some garden sheers, the sheers won” she said as Pierre coughed to regain her attention. She glanced at the register total and pulled some notes out of her wallet, handing them over as Marnie made a face of concern.

“Well I hope you’re alright, you will still be coming to the party tonight? Lewis - that is _Mayor_ Lewis has gone to a lot of trouble to make sure you feel welcome” she said with a smile. Ava noted she faltered on Lewis’ name but she said nothing of it.

“Of course” Ava replied as Pierre handed her over a paper bag of her purchases, “It was only a few stitches. I’ll be there”

“Fantastic” the older woman replied, “I live in the ranch just south of Blackwell farm. When you’re ready to purchase live stock, drop by any time”

Ava thanked her as she adjusted the bag in her arms, “No grand plans for that just yet” she said awkwardly, “think I better get a grip on growing something first”

“Well my door is always open, even if you’re not ready to purchase some chickens just yet” Marnie said with a friendly smile which Ava returned as she thanked the older woman.

“Sorry to dash off but I have so much to do today…” Ava said to excuse herself, Marnie said goodbye and Pierre gave her a curt nod as she exited the shop and began the walk back to Blackwell farm.

\- - - - - - - -

It had been a difficult first day on the farm but by late afternoon, Ava had begun to feel a little more accomplished. The rest of her morning consisted of tilling soil, planting her newly purchased seeds and watering her work.

The rest of the day had been spent trying to clear away some of the overgrowth and after a while, the pain of her hand had become too much of a hindrance to carry on.

It was time to get ready for the party anyway, so she stepped into a long hot bath and after a change of bandages, she looked through her clothes for something to wear. She had reduced her wardrobe considerably for the move but thankfully there were a few pieces she hadn’t been able to part with. Something in there would be suitable for social occasions.

Ava pulled out a cami dress, it was pale pink with thin straps and a pattern of small strawberries all over it. She dressed it down with sneakers and a vintage leather jacket. She blow dried her dirty blonde hair into soft waves that fell around her shoulders and began to feel better than she had done all day.

Lewis was right, the saloon hadn’t been hard to find. It was a large tavern made of old brick, right in the centre of town. Light permeated through the beautiful stained glass windows, illuminating the pavement outside and giving off a warm glow. It looked welcoming enough from the outside but Ava hung back for a moment. She knew she was already late, having not left the farm itself until 8pm but now her nerves were getting the better of her.

She was trying to think of an excuse for her tardiness, just in case anyone pulled her on it, when a gruff voice came from behind her, “Are you going in or what?”

It was the third time in one day someone had taken her by surprise.

“Yoba! What is it with people in this town sneaking up on you?!” she breathed, her voice betraying how irritated she was.

“Don’t block the doorway then…” the voice replied as she turned. He was short, dark haired and wore an unfriendly scowl. His hands were stuffed deep into the pockets of a dark blue sweatshirt with the Joja logo sewn onto the front of it.

“I wasn’t blocking it intentionally. If you’re here for the party why aren’t you already inside?” she asked him, stepping to the side to allow him entry.

“I could say the same to you” he muttered, pushing past her up the few steps to the doorway and disappeared inside. Ava frowned but he was right, she had spent too long outside. She just wished she would stop letting her nerves get the better of her as she anxiously picked at the curled edge of one of her bandages.

After a moment she decided it was time to get on with it and so she took a deep breath and ascended short flight of steps of the pub and pushed open the large wooden door.

“Welcome, welcome!” a voice beckoned as soon as she was over the threshold and the heady scent of ale and food swam around her and the chatter of conversations filled her ears. She hovered awkwardly by the door for a moment until a tall man with a a handlebar moustache and a wide smile waved her over from behind the bar.

She realised he was the one who had called out to her, when he said “Welcome!” once again, “I’m Gus, owner of the Stardrop. I assume you’re the new farmer?”

Ava nodded sheepishly, “That’s what they tell me. I’m Ava”

“Pleasure to meet you Ava” he said, “Mayor Lewis was waiting for your arrival, I’ll grab him in a moment but would you like a drink first?”

Ava rolled onto the balls of her feet to rest her arms on the bar top, scanning the beer pumps and spirit bottles in front of her with great interest, until she said “Bourbon, straight”

Gus grabbed a clean rocks glass, placed it in front of her and expertly poured out a single measure. Ava necked the shot in one before slamming the tumbler back on the bar. The older man looked impressed.

Ava laughed awkwardly, “I used to bartend when I was younger” she explained as she reached for the roll of bills she’d slipped into the pocket of her leather jacket.

Gus raised a hand to stop her, “Oh no, first one is on the house” he said, “call it a welcome gift”

Ava frowned and held out a few gold, “at least put that in your tip jar” she said with a smile.

Gus laughed, “you really did used to be a bartender” he said knowingly and accepted the coins, tossing them into a glass jar that rested between a few of the brass hand pulls and a woman with a bright blue pixie cut stepped onto the bar.

“Ava this is Emily, Emily meet our new farmer” he said introducing the two before he turned to Emily, “Hey Em, can you serve while I grab Mayor Lewis? Seems he’s a bit too preoccupied with Marnie to see our guest of honour is here” he said, dropping his voice so that Ava wouldn’t hear. She did her best to pretended she didn’t.

“Sure thing” the young woman replied with a smile as she put down a tray of empty glasses and turned her attention to Ava, “Cute dress!” she said as she looked her up and down.

Ava grinned, “Thank you, I got it in a little boutique in Zuzu City”

Emily sighed wistfully, “I love making my own clothes” she said before eyeing Ava up and down “you should let me design something for you sometime, I bet you can pull anything off”

Before Ava had a chance to reply, Mayor Lewis had appeared beside her. “Ah Ava, so glad you could make it” he said before he turned toward the room and said loudly, “Can I have everyone’s attention?”

Ava glanced at him nervously, she really hoped he wasn’t about to make a speech.

“Now I will make this brief as I’m sure we all want to get started on that magnificent buffet Gus has prepared for us” Lewis said with a smile aimed toward the tavern owner, “I just wanted to gather the townsfolk here today and take the opportunity as a group, to welcome our new farmer. It’s not often we have a new face around these parts and now there is someone to take over the farm, I feel the future of Pelican Town could begin to look a little brighter” he said, taking his glass and tilting it in the air, “so I want to say welcome and cheers to our new farmer, Ava!” he said with a wide smile.

A round of cheers rang out around the room and Ava gulped anxiously. This was a room full of people expecting her to bring so much to the town and right now it was difficult to feel like she wasn’t about to let every single one of them down. She wanted to say she felt like a fraud but really, she hadn’t ever pretended she knew what she was doing. She had very clear to Lewis on the phone.

Gus and Emily had begun to bring out the buffet and Ava saw this as a moment to be invisible again. “I need some air” she breathed to herself, ducking her head slightly and made her way over to the door.

She hopped down the steps, gulping at the cool spring air and stopping to lean against the jagged bricks of the saloon. She stared up at the night sky and noticed for the first time in her life she was able to see the stars. There was too much light pollution in the city to see anything but here she could see the faint speckles of starlight in a sea of inky black. It was incredible and with this distraction, she felt her anxiety begin to calm.

Then the door of the saloon opened and Ava looked down from the sky to see the face of Doctor Harvey partially illuminated by the glow of the tavern. “I didn’t realise you were out here” he said quietly as he came to stand beside her.

“I needed some air” she said softly, turning her face towards the sky once more.

Harvey watched her turn her head and mimicked her in kind, “Yeah, me too” he said quietly. Ava turned to face him but he continued to look towards the heavens.

“I had never seen the stars until I moved here” he said softly.

“You’re not from here either then?” she asked quietly, a look of surprise played across her face and he turned to look at her and nodded.

“It feels like the first day at school” she said frowning slightly, “I don’t know anyone or where anything is but it’s supposed to be the first day of my future…it’s hard”

“It is” Harvey replied, “but it won’t always feel that way”

Ava shrugged although she knew he was probably right.

“It won’t” he repeated softly. Ava said nothing, she suddenly realised she wanted nothing more than to spend all night out here looking at the stars with Harvey. A blush threatened to creep up her neck, so she looked away and fiddled with her bandages awkwardly.

Suddenly the door of the saloon opened again and a voice called out, “Hey Doc, are you out here? I need you to settle an argument”

He gave Ava a look she couldn’t quite decipher before he called out, “I’m coming Maru”. There was a pause but after a few moments they heard the door close again.

Harvey sighed, “I better get back” he said and Ava nodded, though neither of them immediately moved.

Ava smiled and pushed herself off the wall, “thanks for the pep talk” she said quietly, “I’m glad you could make it in the end” she smiled and headed up the steps and back into the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter was a little bitty but Ava is still trying to find her footing in Pelican Town and I think that this reflects that. Anyway, thank you for all your likes, comments and kudos and a big thank you to anyone who's stuck with this so far


	5. Aerobics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's read this so far, especially those who have bookmarked or left Kudos!

Ava woke with a groan. It felt like someone had tried to split her head with an axe in the night but only after they had drained all the water from her body. She’d obviously gotten far too drunk _again_. She mentally kicked herself. She had really been trying to stay away from drinking, especially since….she shook her head and pushed all notions of thinking about _that_ from her mind.

 _‘Fresh start, new me, new life’_ she thought to herself sadly as she eased herself up into a sitting position. She repressed a burp that threatened to rise and tried to resist the urge to throw up as she checked her phone.

_No new calls, no new messages._

_‘Same old, same old’_ she thought as she wondered why she even kept the damn thing. This old shack barely had colour TV, never mind WIFI. Her phone was now just an expensive clock she lugged around. She pulled a face at the screen as it read out _10.45am._ She had now wasted the majority of the morning in something of a drunken coma rather than getting to clearing the yard like she had planned.

She stood and stretched, cracking her bones as she moved and as bile threatened to rise in her chest once more. Once in the bathroom she sat on the edge of the bathtub, the back of her bare legs puckered with goose flesh as it came into contact with cold enamel while she funnelled handfuls of tap water into her dry mouth.

It turned out, throwing up was inevitable. Though she did feel better afterwards. After a long hot shower and changing into some clean clothes, she felt slightly less delicate than when she’d awoken.

When she stepped back into the kitchen, she realised it had begun to rain. The sky was overcast and gloomy and fat droplets fell hard on the slanted roof of the farmhouse, running in small streams down the windows. _’Wont have to water anything today’_ , she thought brightly, though it would push any work she had planned for this afternoon back even further.

She was secretly grateful, the hangover was like a sickly cloud bearing down on her and the weather had given her an easy out. She opened the fridge, more to experience a rush of cold air on her face than anything else. Turns out she really didn’t feel like cooking either, so instead she stepped back into her bedroom and threw on an oversized hoodie and her backpack.

She knew the saloon was open at 12pm and the walk there, although wet, had been well needed. The scent of damp earth and the rhythmic sounds of the rainfall on the hood of her jacket awoke her senses and calmed her. Once inside she shed the wet hoodie, hanging the soaking garment on one of the coat pegs near the door and took a seat at the bar.

After a few moments of scanning the menu in front of her, Emily appeared from the kitchen looking surprised to see Ava was sat there. “Well, well, well. You made it home in one piece then?” she said with a grin.

Ava shrunk slightly in her seat, “Yoba, was I really that bad?” she asked sheepishly

“I’m just fooling” Emily said, “I mean, you were one of the last to leave but that’s nothing to be to embarrassed about”

Emily gave her a look and Ava frowned, “I don’t really remember much of last night. Was I mixing my drinks?”

Emily nodded and Ava groaned as she realised her mistake, “Don’t worry about it, you were fine. It definitely got you out of your shell anyway, you made a few friends”

Ava covered her face with her hands, she wasn’t normally _that type_ of person, that is, unless she had a drink or two in her. Emily leaned on the bar and grinned, “Honestly, it was kinda funny. I mean when you and Pam decided to give us a rendition of Toto’s Africa, Gus decided it was time to cut you off -”

“Pam?” Ava asked weakly, though the trickle of memory came through. Her and an older lady with big blonde hair, arms wrapped around each others shoulders as they leaned against the jukebox. _I bless the rains…._

Emily was clearly amused, “Yeah Pam, she took a real shine to you once you’d gotten a few rounds in. You even started to melt Shane’s icy exterior. You’re a generous drunk”

Ava had a vague memory of Shane, the man with the dark hair had spent the entire night in the corner by himself, sullenly sipping on a beer. In a sober state she would never have dreamed of bothering someone who so clearly wanted to be left alone....but being drunk, she imagined she’d probably pushed it a little too far.

Emily seemed to read her mind, “Don’t take it personally, Shane’s surly to everyone”

With that Gus exited the kitchen, a tea towel thrown casually over his shoulder, “Morning Ava” he said with a smile.

Ava frowned, “Gus, I just want to say…I’m sorry about last night”

The barman frowned, “What for? I’ve certainly seen people in a worse state in here than you last night”

Ava tried to find the words. He was probably right but that did nothing to quell the embarrassment she felt this morning.

Gus laughed at her reaction, “It was your party” he reminded her, “Besides, you’re a good tipper, so I won’t hear no more about it”

She managed a weak smile in his direction as Emily gave her a wink as she pulled out her notepad, “Do you want to order anything?”

Ava finally decided on a very large breakfast and a coffee and Gus disappeared into the back once more, Emily set a cappuccino in front of Ava and watched as the young woman poured an unhealthy amount of sugars into it.

“You got enough in there?” Emily said with a smirk as she resumed her leaning position on the bar. She clearly was more interested in keeping Ava company than finding some work to do.

Ava ignored the comment on her sugars, “I thought you said you only did evenings here?” she said, remembering their conversation from the night previous, when Ava had still been _relatively_ sober.

Emily shrugged, “I do normally but Gus needed a hand clearing up after last night” she paused and sighed, “it pays the bills” she said quietly.

Ava nodded as she took took a sip of her coffee, “So what’s your real passion then?”

Emily’s face lit up, “Well tailoring, designing…I make all my own clothes you see” she said, standing up straight to model today’s outfit, at which Ava made sure to look suitably impressed.

“Very cool. I can totally see you with your own quirky little boutique somewhere” Ava said as Gus reappeared with her breakfast order. It was a large plate stacked high with bacon, eggs and toast.

“Here we go” he said as he placed it in front of her, “Perfect hang over cure” he said with a wink before he disappeared into the kitchen once more.

Ava smiled down at her plate, “I am so going to demolish this” she said quietly as she picked up her cutlery.

Emily gave her a look of disbelief, “If you eat all that I will be impressed” she said. Ava was a tiny thing really and that was a big breakfast.

“Trust me” Ava said as she stabbed a sausage, “I can eat like a horse sometimes”

True to her word, Emily watched the other woman eat the entire thing in what seemed like record timing.

“Where do you put it” Emily said with a laugh as Ava finished the dregs of her coffee.

“Beats me” Ava grinned, her hangover now well and truly defeated, “though I may have to go and run this off. I don’t know what you guys do without a gym”

“Oh Caroline runs an aerobics class every Tuesday, you should join us!”

“Oh I don’t know…” Ava said quietly, she was never one for classes. In the city she had much preferred the solitary peace of an empty gym in the middle of the night.

“Oh come on, it’ll be a great way to get to know everyone a little better” Emily said with a smile. Ava frowned but said nothing.

Emily seemed to take this as a victory, “Great! It starts at 12” she said finally.

\- - - - - - - - - - - -

Ava never had grown out of the habit of being late. It was something that had been a frequent cause of concern at any job she’d ever had, but now having the farm and being able to dictate her own hours had only made it worse.

Tuesday had rolled around quickly and after a morning of farm work she knew the last thing she needed was an aerobics class. She didn’t really want to let Emily down, especially when she had been one of the most welcoming people she had met so far. So, when her mornings work was done, Ava quickly changed into some suitable workout clothes and headed down to Pierre’s.

The shop keeper had directed her towards a door at the back of the store, though not before he had made a comment on her lateness, “I’m sure they’ve already started by now” he said with a glance at his watch.

She gave him an apologetic look but said nothing as she stepped through to the back area and followed the sound of the music down the corridor towards a large room in which a group of ladies were following Caroline’s aerobic instructions.

Ava shot her the same apologetic look she had given Pierre and made her way to the back of the group to find a space. Emily gave her a small wave before she continued her movements and Ava waved back as she checked the group to see who was here. There was Emily, Marnie, Doctor Harvey… _wait._

 _‘Doctor Harvey is here?’_ she thought, to herself with surprise.

He was at the very back of the group and dressed more casually than she was so far used to seeing him, in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Ava locked eyes with him momentarily and his cheeks began to twinge with pink. She soon realised that this was not because he was breaking a sweat. In fact, he had been keeping better pace with Caroline than most of the women here, at least, that was until Ava came to stand beside him.

Suddenly his movements seemed awkward and sluggish and he seemed flustered by her presence, _embarrassed_ even.

Ava dropped her backpack to the ground and directed her eyes to Caroline as she began to stretch, pretending that she hadn’t noticed his discomfort at all. Though secretively she had to fight off the urge to smirk. This class was already turning out to be more interesting than she had anticipated.

Caroline had the group run ragged. After some time, some of the women began to lose pace but Harvey and Ava appeared to have no problems keeping up. Once he had gotten over his wobble, it _almost_ felt as if they were in silent competition with each other. Furtive glances at one another and deliberately trying to out do the other seemed to be the order of the day.

 _‘He looks good’_ , she thought to herself. Now he was working up a sweat, his t-shirt clung slightly to his torso and she could get a better sense of what he was hiding under those pressed shirts she’d only seen him wear.

“Good work ladies” Caroline said suddenly. It broke Ava out of her focus and she looked up to see the older lady clasping her hands together to signal an end to their work out, “We will end it there” she said finally.

Emily immediately made a bee-line for Ava, who had begun her cooling down exercises and pretended she hadn’t been checking out the only man in the group.

“You made it then!” Emily said with a grin

“I did, you didn’t tell me how intense this was going to be!” Ava said, blowing a strand of hair from her face dramatically as she stretched her calves.

“You were right at the back, I couldn’t see how you were doing” Emily said

Before Ava could answer, Harvey quipped “It didn’t look like you were struggling from here”

“Doctor Harvey is being modest” she smiled, “he left me in his dust”

“If you two could stop flirting for a moment” Caroline’s voice cut through their conversation like a knife, Ava had been too preoccupied to notice the older woman had appeared beside her, “next time Ava, we start at 12pm sharp” she said pointedly. 

Ava felt all the blood in her body rush to her face. She felt like a school girl who’d just been told off by a teacher, “Er, yes…sorry about that” she mumbled awkwardly, reaching down to retrieve her backpack just so she could avoid everyone’s eyes for a moment.

“Other than that, good effort you two” Caroline then said brightly before she crossed the room to talk to Jodi.

Ava slipped on her back pack as Harvey suddenly spoke.

“Emily, could I have a private word with Ava please?” he said, seriously.

“Um…sure” Emily replied, she gave her new friend a look of concern before she turned heel and wandered away.

Ava was hit by a second wave of awkwardness. What was this about? _Had he caught her checking him out?_ Was he about to call her out on it? He took a step closer to her, his expression now rather serious. This only served to make her feel more on edge.

“Listen, I don’t want this getting out around town…” he started and Ava began to anxiously tug at her sweatshirt, “I’m just trying to stay healthy” he said as he watched her expression change from anxiety to confusion.

“I’d prefer it if you just kept this between us” he said, slowly and as if talking to a child.

The look of confusion didn’t falter, she tilted her head up to face him, her eyes squinting slightly.

“I don’t want the whole town to know I do dance aerobics” he then said quietly.

Relief washed over her and she let out a small laugh.

He frowned at her, clearly unhappy with her reaction, “This is exactly what I was worried about” he snapped and turned to leave but she held up a hand to stop him.

“That’s not why I’m laughing” she said, reaching out to touch his arm reassuringly, “Your secret is safe with me. I’m just not sure about the rest of this group”

“Everyone here has kept quiet about it so far” he said softly with a shrug.

“And you think _I’m_ going to be some blabber mouth?” Ava said, raising her eyebrow, “ _really?_ ”

She suddenly realised she was still touching his arm and quickly retracted it. He glanced down at where her hand had been before looking into her eyes, “No, I guess I don’t” he said softly.

“Good” she said after a pause, “but there’s nothing to be ashamed of you know”

“I only do it to keep healthy” he said firmly. Clearly this was something of a sore spot for him.

“Me too” she whispered with a wink and turned back to see Emily was watching them from the other side of the room, whispering something to Leah.

Ava narrowed her eyes at the blue haired woman before turning back to the doctor, “Your secret is safe with me” she said seriously and he thanked her.

Emily took this as a signal their conversation was coming to an end and so reappeared next to Ava, “Ok, after whatever _that_ was” she said conspiratorially, though still loud enough for Harvey to hear, “why don’t we go get a late lunch at the Saloon? You’re welcome to join us Doctor Harvey!”

“Oh, thank you for the invitation but I have things to attend to” Harvey said awkwardly and made a move to leave. Ava couldn’t help but watch him leave, “I think I need to shower first” she sighed.

Emily shrugged, “Okay, forget the Saloon, how about you come over to mine and we’ll figure what you’re going to wear for the Flower Dance!”

It then finally occurred to Ava that she’d found the first person who _wanted_ to spend time with her in a long time. She was flattered.

“Alright Em, let’s do that” she said with a grin.


End file.
